Bullet trap



Oct. 17, 1950 B. WALKER BULEET TRAP Filed March 16, 1945 ErnnkaWa lker Patented Oct. 17, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Brobks-Walker, Piedmont, Calif;

ApplicatidnMarch 16, 1945, Serial No. 583,136 n s Clttims 101. 273-10) "(Grahted under the-act of March 3, 1833, as

The inteiition descrlbed"hereinmay be manufacturedand us'eaj by or ref the government for governmental purposesiwithout thei 'payment to me-of anyroyaltyftheieonf y Y n A- purpose tithe invention is toprovide a trap for bullets that are fired ont oi sma-n arms such 7 Seven 3 as rifles and maehineguns; I I Another purposeof the invention is to provide abullettrap which is sa sense and which occupies.relative1y--little..;"" compared with thatoccupiedlby aj'ri'fle pr ma nie gun range of customarysize n v n, T' h A furtherlpurposeof thefinv ntion is to prov1de a means 'orsalvag'ing' the bullets'ffired into the bullet trap with a minimum..of.deformation of meiirdtuiiets due to trietra itself. therkand 'Iui'ther jtpurposspr "the invention become abpar'iitfibih ure-renewin descriptiofi and attacheddrawing T A preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated mitten sw ngs 'in' which; 1 Figural is aldev'icefsliowingjt' referred form ofj1;he;inveiitiba;

i i i e i sme ja i were Figure 3 1s lfac'e v ew o f r a bulletinlet hole-.11; ,I. Figure 4 a vect' fn'taken -on line 4:4 pr Fieure3, M

Figure a a of anotherg form of cover for a bulletinlet hole', and I Figured-is a section taken on line 6-6 of Figure 5.

In the test firing of small arms and automatic 1 weapons, it is desirable to avoid the use of full size ranges wherever possible. This may be done by firing the gun into a sand trap, but this method has many well known disadvantages such'a's the expenseof replacing the sand which is largely reduced to a fine powder dust as a result of firing bullets into it. Thepowdered sand is also considered to be quite deleterious to the health of workmen who must remove it. The present invention provides ameans of overcoming the inherent defects of sand traps. It is 'efiectiva-safe and requires no replaeementmf sand. addition it permitsa far greater recovery of spent bullet r ofg bullets after firing them.

L Referring .now toFigure 1, aweapon 2, ,su ch as amachine. gun or other smallfarml, is mounted on a pedestal or table 4 in' anysecure manner such .as'by means of upwardly projecting lugs 6 having transverse holes aligned with'the corresponding holes 8 in the downwardlyprojecting lugs I of the machinegim 2. The barrel l 2 of the gun 2 extends through a hole [4 in a- 'protectivewall .86. While the wall 46 mal'y'b'e'"rha'dei-of cohefete of suflicient thickness, it is preferable to make it of and to a certain extent permits inspection aiiiended-APri l -30, 1328; 370 O. G. 757) heavy gauge steel to guard the operator of the gun against possible injury from bullet fragments.

The bullets from the gun 2 are fired into a tank l8 two side walls of which are shown at '21] and 22. The tank is preferably made of heavy gauge steel, wood or other suitable material and contains water or other suitable liquid or mixture of liquids 22 which entersthe tank froni'pipeiti. The bullets fired from the gun' 2 enter the through a hole 26 formed throughsidewall at the same level as the vline of fire fromthe-gun barrel|2.

A horizontal pipe 28 or a'series of parallel p'ipes arranged in the water 24 'nearthe fioorj o'f the tank [8, has a large number of small holesf29fin its walls through which compressed airinside the pipe'28 can enter the water 24. The pipelflis conriected by pipe.30 to an air compressor 3'2- driven byja motor 3 4 .wher'ebya continuous fiowof air is caused to pass out 'o'fthe holes 29 in the direction indicated by arrows 2'! into the water 24. This results in keeping the water '24 full of air bubbles 35. To assist in maintaining the air bubbles as long as possible we mayadd to the water '24 an oil of the type developed'fo'r theflotationprocess .of gold extraction or oil of similar characteris tics, thus creating a semipermanent mixture of water and air bubbles.

Another method of producing air bubbles in the water 24 is by means of a propeller 36 arranged on a vertical shaft 38 driven by a motor 69 or other means and Supported on the tank [8 by a bracket 42. The shaft 38 may be hollow and open at both ends, and, the propeller 38 is arranged to propel water downward. The resulting vortex will cause air to be drawn downward and mixed with the water, forming a large number of bubbles and addition of the above-mentioned oil will create a semipermanent mixture of water before hitting wall v22,

Since hole is located below the water level inthetank, means is provided toprevent or diminish the 'rateof escape of water through the hole 26. This is accomplished by means of an externalrpipe and nozzle 44 which forces waterinto the hole 25 from the outside as indicated in Figure 1...The tip of nozzle 44 is located near the hole 26 but outsidethe line of fire so it is not hit by fired bullets. Water for nozzle 46 is obtained from tank I8 throughpipe- 46 connected at one end to the water 2-4 and at'the other end to a pump 45 driven by a motor 50.

-. Asispent--bullets drop to the bottom'of tank l8, they-can be-removedin'a variety of ways, such as by letting the Water 24 out of the tank through an outlet pipe or valve and then shoveling them out. Or, as illustrated, a horizontal wire screen 52 may be arranged on supports 54 near the bottom of the tank, the spent bullets falling onto the screen. The screen 52 may then be raised to the top of the tank by means of cables 56 running over pulleys 58 to balancing weights B and the bullets then shoveled or raked ofi the screen, or the screen may be tilted so the bullets fall ofi it into a hopper or other eontainer. The propeller 36 and associated equipment would, if used, have to be moved out of the way when the screen is raised.

Figure 2 shows an alternative or modified form of the invention. It difiers from the form shown in Figure 1 only in regard to the means used for avoiding wastage or loss of water through hole 26. Thus, as shown in Figure 2, the hole 26 is covered by a piece 62 of heavy rubberized fabric or fibre, for example like that used in rubberized.

fabric power transmission belts or in automobile tire casings. The fibre 62 may be held in .place over hole 26 by means of an external annular flange 64 as indicated in Figures 3 and 4, the flange being held in place by bolts 66 having wing nuts '68. Or, the fibre 62 may be in the form of a long strip 70 as illustrated in Figures 2, and 6, the strip I0 being supported between two angle irons l2 and 74 so that it may be moved to present an unpierced portion over hole 26 as needed. As bullets are fired through the fibre 62 or 70, the bullets will only make small holes in the fibre, through which a relatively small quantity of water will flow. This water flows into a small tank 76 from' which it is pumped back into tank l8 by pump 78 powered by motor 80 and through pipes 82, thus maintaining the level of water in tank 18.

While the invention has been described in specific terms herein, it is to be understood that numerous changes may be made in the shape,

size, arrangement and materials without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed herein.

I claim:

1. A trap for stopping bullets fired from a weapon, said trap comprising a tank having lateral wall means for confining a liquid, said lateral wall means having an aperture therethrough at a position intermediate its top and bottom, and nozzle means positioned exteriorly of said tank and spaced from and below said aperture for directing a stream of liquid into said aperture in a direction inclined to the plane of said lateral wall means.

2. A trap for stopping bullets fired from a weapon, said trap comprising a tank having lateral wall means for confining a liquid, said lateral wall means havin an aperture therethrough at a position intermediate its top andbottom; nozzle means positioned exteriorly of said tank and spaced from and below said aperture for directing a stream of liquid into said aperture in a direction inclined to the plane of said lateral wall means, and means for removing liquid from said tank at a position below said aperture and for pumping it to said nozzle means.

3. A trap for stopping bullets fired from a weapon, said trap comprising a tank having lateral wall means for confining a liquid, said lateral wall means having an aperture therethrough at a position intermediate its top and bottom; nozzle means positioned exteriorly of said tank and spaced from and below said aperture for directing a stream of liquid into said aperture in a direction inclined to the plane of said lateral Wall means, means for removing liquid from said tank at aposition below said aperture and for pumping it to said nozzle means, and means for distributing air bubbles in liquid contained in said tank.

4. A bullet trap comprising a tank having vertically disposed liquid confining wall means, said wall means having an aperture therethrough at a position intermediate its top and bottom, and a nozzle positioned away from and below said aperture exteriorly of said tank for directing a stream of liquid into said aperture in a direction inclined to said wall means.

5. A bullet trap comprising a tank having vertically disposed liquid confining wall means, said wall means having an aperture therethrough at a position intermediate its top and bottom; a nozzle positioned away from and below said aperture exteriorly of said tank for directing a stream of liquid into said aperture in a direction inclined to said wall means, and means for removing liquid from said tank at a position below said aperture and for pumping it to said nozzle.

6. A bullet trap comprising a tank having vertically disposed liquid confinin wall means, said wall means having an aperture therethrough at a position intermediate its top and bottom; a nozzle positioned away from and below said aperture exteriorly of said tank for directing a stream of liquid into said aperture in a direction inclined to said wall means, means for removing liquid from said tank at a position below said aperture and for pumping it to said nozzle, and means for distributing air bubbles in liquid contained in said tank.

7. A bullet trap comprising a tank having vertically disposed liquid confining wall means, said wall means having an aperture therethrough at a position intermediate its top and bottom, a

liquid in said tank having its level above said aperture, and a nozzle positioned away from and below said aperture exteriorly of said tank for directing a stream of said liquid into said aperture in a direction inclined to said wall means.

8. A bullet trap comprising a tank having vertically disposed liquid confining wall means, said Wall means having an aperture therethrough at a position intermediate its top and bottom; a liquid in said tank having its level above said aperture, a nozzle positioned away from and below said aperture for directing a stream of said liquid into said aperture in a direction inclined to said wall means, and means for removing liquid from said tank at a position below said aperture and for pumping it to said nozzle.

BROOKS WALKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

